hydroton bugs

[Unregistered]

I've been indoor gardening for sometime now and have encountered a bug that seems to primarily reside in the hydroton that I use. The pest looks like a tiny beetle, grayish brown, with six legs. They also seem to shed exoskeletons leaving a "peppery" mess all over the floor of my work space. I have noticed decreases in plant productivity (ie growth and harvest) and have found one product that seems to work fairly well called serenade. I would still like to have some light shed on this situation by figuring out what kind of pest I am up against. If anyone has a clue, your help would be of great assistance

another happy farmer

[David G.]

Would it be possible for you to post an image of the pest?

[Unregistered]

I will try to post one soon. If it is any help, the younger bugs seem to follow that grayish color while the seemingly more mature bugs tend to take on a darker gray toward their fronts with a reddish backside. They also seem to congregate under the hole of the emiter rings, possibly sucking away nutrients before they are able to reach root zones in my top buckets.

another happy farmer

[Unregistered]

This is soooo strange. I HAVE HAD THE EXACT SAME THING IN MY HYDROTON!!! I researched and researched and could not find anything at all and no one knew what I was talking about. It totally freaked me out.

What did you find out about this strange phenomenon? It finally killed the plant that was in the Water Farm. I look for them constantly now but have not seen anything else...but will never stop looking now.

I look forward to hearing any further news. PEACE. Kathryn

[crippled1]

They were likely root aphids. Do the adults fly? Regardless of what you have, get some of this. It will kill anything. And it's organic. I just got 1 gallon, it's around $120. I'll sell you some of mine as I'll never use this much.

http://www.wisesolutions.ws/WS-CPC.html